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The 6,000-seat velodrome for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics is officially opened.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

White couples should be allowed to adopt black and ethnic minority children under new guidelines for social workers in England.

Local authorities will be warned not to delay placing a child with a suitable family of a different ethnicity.

Many children from ethnic minorities do not get adopted because social workers have been keen to place them with families of the same background.

The move will be confirmed by Education Secretary Michael Gove on Tuesday.

The law will not change but the new guidance will state that as long as prospective adopters show that they are able to care for the child then race should not be a factor.

They will also say that preventing families from adopting children of a different ethnic group is “unacceptable”.

Each local authority will be closely monitored and those that persistently ignore the advice could have their adoption services contracted out to voluntary agencies.

Current advice states that social workers must give “due consideration to the child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background”, but does not specify whether race should be regarded as outweighing other factors.

Children’s minister Tim Loughton announced in November last year that the government would be updating its guidance on adoption.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Pregnancies in girls under 18 in England and Wales have fallen to levels not seen since the early 1980s, according to new government figures.

The rate of conceptions in under-18s in 2009 fell by nearly 6% compared to the previous year.

The total number of pregnancies in 2009 increased very slightly after a small fall the previous year.

The figures – from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – are estimates for 2009.

The rate of pregnancy among under 18s, which takes account of fluctuations in population, fell to 38.3 conceptions per 1,000 women aged 15-17.

The actual number of conceptions in under 18s was 38,259 compared with 41,361 in 2008, a decline of 7.5%.

Nearly half of these conceptions led to abortions.

The figures will give some encouragement to policy makers and health workers who have struggled to bring down teenage pregnancy rates after they hit a high in the early 1990s.

But they still fall well short of a target set by the previous Labour government in 1998, now abandoned by the Coalition, to cut teenage pregnancies by 50% by 2010.

The Children’s Minister Sarah Teather welcomed the fall in the teenage pregnancy rate but said there was still much to do.

“Teenage parents and their children are more likely to suffer from poor health, unemployment and poor achievement at school than their peers.

“There remains a huge variation in the progress that has been made in reducing teenage pregnancy rates across the country. Some local authorities have seen their rates decline by up to 45% while others have struggled.

“It is important, therefore, that local areas learn from each other and share what has worked, so that they invest in the things that will really make a difference.”

Simon Blake, National Director of the Brook Advisory Centres which are the biggest providers of sexual health services and advice to under 25s, says the fall in the figures reflect a lot of good work over the last 10 years.

“We strongly urge the government to ensure a continued local and national focus on teenage pregnancy as we know that if we stop focusing on delivering sexual health services the rates will go up.

“In times of public spending cuts, making cuts to sexual health services is short sighted as this is crucial to young people’s wellbeing and actually saves money – for every £1 spent on contraception £11 is saved.”

Julie Bentley, Chief Executive of the Family Planning Association, also believes today’s figures should be welcomed, but sounds a note of caution.

“The success brought about by today’s figures revealing we’re seeing the lowest teenage pregnancy in England and Wales for 30 years is down to a dedicated strategy in England with a tried and tested formula of sex and relationships education, contraception and information services and local services working together.

“However, the fact that the strategy no longer exists is a significant cause for concern and so the government must examine how to keep this tremendous momentum going.”

The figures from the ONS also show a very small rise – less than one per cent – in the overall conception rate, compared to a similar fall in the previous year.

In terms of age, women aged 30-34 and 35-39 saw the largest percentage increase in conceptions – 3.5% and 3.4% respectively.

Confirmed figures for 2009 will be issued by the ONS in the autumn.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A special court in the western Indian state of Gujarat has found 31 people guilty of setting fire to a passenger train in the town of Godhra in 2002.

The court acquitted 63 other people of conspiracy and murder.

The Sabarmati Express was attacked by a Muslim mob killing 59 people, mainly Hindu pilgrims.

The attack led to some of the worst riots seen in India and left more than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, dead.

Gujarat’s authorities were criticised for not doing enough to stop the riots.

Those convicted will be sentenced on Friday. Security is tight across Gujarat and extra police have been deployed in case of communal unrest.

The attackers were said to have forced the train, carrying Hindu pilgrims from Ayodhya, to stop and then set fire to one of the carriages.

“The court has accepted the conspiracy theory. It was not an accident,” public prosecutor JM Panchal is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

Whether or not there was a conspiracy to set the train ablaze or whether it was a spontaneous fire has long been the subject of dispute.

An inquiry commission set up by the state government said in 2008 that the burning of the train was a “conspiracy”.

That commission also exonerated Gujarat’s Chief Minister Narendra Modi over the deadly religious riots that followed the blaze.

He was accused of failing to halt the religious violence and some opponents said he indirectly encouraged some of the Hindu rioters. But the commission dismissed these allegations.

“There is absolutely no evidence to show that either the chief minister or any of the ministers in his council or police officers played any role in the Godhra incident,” Justice GT Nanavati had concluded in his report.

The commission, which examined more than 1,000 witnesses during a six-year period, found that 140 litres of petrol had been purchased as part of what it said had been a conspiracy to burn the train carriage.

The report’s findings contradicted an earlier inquiry by retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who found that the coach fire was not deliberately started.

He concluded in 2005 that the fire began by accident.

He said there was evidence to suggest the blaze began inside the train and that it was not fire-bombed.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Seven leaders of Thailand’s “red-shirt” protest movement have been freed on bail after nine months in jail on terrorism charges.

Separately another red-shirt, Surachai Damwattananusorn, has been arrested on charges of insulting the monarchy.

The government has meanwhile extended implementation of the Internal Security Act for another month.

It is trying to contain continuing protests by both the red-shirts and the nationalist “yellow-shirt” protesters.

The decision to release all seven red-shirt leaders and a protest guard was a surprise. At most, two leaders were expected to be freed.

But the court ruled that unspecified new evidence made their temporary release possible – on condition that they did not incite or instigate any violence or disorder.

Among them are some famous names from last year’s Bangkok protests – Natthawut Saikua, Dr Weng Tojirakarn and Kokaew Pikulthong.

These men dominated the stage as many thousands of red-shirted people camped out in the centre of Bangkok for two months.

After the army moved in for a second time last May, a total of 91 people had died and several hundred had been arrested.

Scores of protesters remain behind bars, though the leadership is now free.

Analysts say this is probably an attempt at reconciliation by the government. It has said it wants to call elections before June.

But political turmoil here is not over. Another red-shirt leader has already said the protest actions would continue.

Conflict with Cambodia over a disputed border in the north is seen as another part of the complex electioneering now in full spate.

A more nationalist anti-government movement known as the yellow-shirts remain encamped near parliament and had been pressing for firm action against Cambodia.

It seems the government is trying to appease both their sentiments and those of the red-shirts, as a series of anniversaries of last year’s protests approaches.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

The family of a young man killed when he was on a test drive say his loss has had a “devastating” impact.

Gavin Collier, 20, of Neath, died when the driver of a car he was considering buying crashed into a parked car while travelling at up to 75mph.

Nathan Morris, 23, was jailed for four years on Monday for causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Collier’s father, Jonathan, said grief over the death had caused ill health and distress in the family.

In a victim statement, Mr Collier said: “As a direct result of Gavin’s death, several family members have suffered from health problems and, sadly, Gavin’s grandmother died suddenly in January this year.

“The funeral was held just a week before the court case.”

He said his son, who travelled to Tenby, Pembrokeshire, to view Mr Morris’s Peugeot hatchback in February 2010 but was not driving at the time of the crash, “loved life and lived it to the full”.

“When Gavin was aged only 13, his mother died from a brain tumour, which made him realise how precious life is,” he said.

“He had many interests including cycling, bodybuilding, boxing and, of course, he loved cars among other interests.

“Gavin’s loss before his 21st birthday has had a devastating effect on me and my family and the trauma caused by Mr Morris’s actions cannot be overstated.

“Gavin was much loved and will be forever sorely missed.”

PC Justin Williams of Dyfed Powys Police’s roads policing unit was the investigating officer on the case.

He said he was satisfied with the sentence handed down to Morris.

“No matter how long Mr Morris serves in prison, the sad fact remains that nothing will ever bring back Gavin, and Mr Morris will have to live with that fact for the rest of his life,” he said.

“There are no winners in this case and Gavin’s untimely and tragic death should serve as a potent reminder about the terrible consequences of reckless and dangerous driving.”

Earlier the court heard Morris was trying to sell the car with a faulty shock absorber which he had been previously warned about in an MoT test.

Prosecutor James Jenkins told the court Morris hit speeds of 75mph as he was trying to manoeuvre around a sweeping left hand bend on a country road in Tenby.

Trainee mechanic Morris lost control and crashed into a parked car killing Mr Collier instantly.

He told police he was driving at 50mph.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.